Sweden

We are off to the land of the Vikings! And before you go any further, a quick disclaimer; we did NOT go to IKEA for Swedish meatballs (in hindsight, maybe poor choices were made).

The Vikings not only discovered the world and set roots in the places we know and love, but also influenced the food that we eat today. Vikings were known for their food preservation, including salting, smoking, fermenting, drying and pickling. These traditions remain a big part of the Nordic cuisine.

As the Nordics are are surrounded by seas, it is not surprising that fishing is a big part of the culture, including whaling. However, it is not only fish which Scandinavian countries are known for; pork is also done in all forms you can imagine, cured, smoked, grilled or dried.

What do we mean by the Nordic cuisine, we hear you ask. We don’t want to generalise, as usually the food we have only represents a small region of the country, so to say all Scandinavian countries is definitely a stretch. The Nordics combine different countries, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Although the regional foods have differences, they are all bounded by the freshness of the ingredients. Sauces are not common in the Nordics, so the ingredients have to speak for themselves.

KuPP Paddington

Talking of local foods and seasonal ingredients, KuPP started in Stockholm and brings to London the food, design and culture from Sweden. Their goal is to use “Scandinavian Ingredients in a British way”.

Arriving at KuPPs, our expectations were high as we took in the sight of picturesque canal barges against the backdrop of a modern skyline. The entrance of KuPPs itself, bordered by plants and garden furniture style seating, beckoned us into the Nordic style cafe bar restaurant.

The interior is what you might image is a very Nordic style decor. Crisp clean lines, modern and spacious, with large heavy duty wooden tables. We would even bet money that some of the shelves were from Ikea. It seemed an atmosphere that was probably fitting to the country (or our idea of it), but perhaps a little too sterile, without any real background music to help carry the mood of the place.

Unfortunately, KuPP didn’t live up to our expectations. The service was slow, drinks took an age to arrive and for a big group we only got one menu, which made the decision process quite lengthy. That process was made even slower after we found out that they had run out of meatballs and we had to make a second choice. How does a Swedish restaurant not prepare enough meatballs, what is known to be their signature dish?

Assuming they actually have everything in the kitchen, the smörgåsbord and small plates seem the most authentic and a good balance between fish and meat. The large plates lean more towards meat and although there are a couple of vegetarian options and a vegan option, they aren’t the most inspiring or Swedish.

The fish smörgåsbord was actually a good representation of the Swedish cuisine, giving us plenty of opportunity to try a good variety of flavours, at a very good price. On the board you found fish made in different ways, a Scandi wellington (with salmon), yummy mackerel pâté, smoked salmon and a variety of sides, like potatoes, (sweet) sauerkraut and well made bread. The food was really good quality, although the taste of disappointment from lack of a meatball starter still remained.

Oddly, unlike most restaurants in London, the kitchen shuts at 8pm, so if you do decide to come here, make sure you check the times carefully, because this is definitely more of a lunchtime venue.

Overall, this was a somewhat disappointing trip, and we are thankfully that we had some amazing company with whom we could laugh about the more questionable aspects of the place.

And to lighten the mood, here are some great puns of the evening….

We Finnished our meal, with enough space for a Danish as dessert, as we have a Swede tooth ;)

Onwards and we return to Western Europe.

Recommendations

While we are only able to go to one place per country, we want to share with you some other places we found, if you want to try it out and let us know

• Aquavit London, SW1Y 4QQ - Polished eatery spotlighting elevated Scandinavian cuisine
• Ekte Nordic Kitchen, EC4N 8AR - All-day café with wine and a focus on Nordic cuisine